


I Couldn't Bear to See

by Kavi Leighanna (kleighanna)



Series: Ella!Verse [5]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Baby!Fic, F/M, Romance, family fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-19
Updated: 2015-01-19
Packaged: 2018-03-08 06:09:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3198296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kleighanna/pseuds/Kavi%20Leighanna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maria has an early morning with her daughter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Couldn't Bear to See

"Me too, Mama."

Maria startles, so bad she almost spills the coffee she is so lovingly pouring. Her little ninja sneak. She should be proud. At six in the morning, she’s probably more concerned. 

 

"No, baby," she murmurs as she slips the pot back where it belongs. It’ll be cold by the time Steve wakes up, assuming she doesn’t finish it first, but she’s the one who can’t stand microwaved coffee. "Not yet."

"Five minutes?" 

She snorts this time. It’s too early. She’s not caffeinated enough to stifle her amusement. “Daddy teach you that?”

She gets a sigh from her daughter. It’s a pretty grown up sound for her five-year-old. “Daddy’s busy.”

"He has been busy, yes," Maria agrees on a quiet hum. He’d gotten in late last night, a couple of days over in Europe blowing a Hydra cell to smithereens. Literally. He has a violent streak when it comes to cryo-freezing facilities. She does not blame him. 

"Up, Mama." Then, after a beat and a look. "Please?"

And of course Maria picks her up. Her tiny little daughter -  _daughter_ , she has a  _kid_  - that had come much, much too early. “Good morning, Ella.”

Ella cuddles in close, her face in Maria’s neck. “Not morning, Mama.”

No, Maria agrees. It shouldn’t be. Not for her little girl. For her, of course, because she doesn’t run on much sleep and not even pregnancy could change that, but Ella. Ella needs sleep. 

"Then why are you out here with me, hm?" Maria asks quietly as she sways back and forth. "It’s early."

"So early," her daughter agrees. Her eyelashes flutter like she wants to go, but the tension in her little body is painfully obvious. "Your bed, Mama?" 

"No, baby. Daddy’s there sleeping."

"Daddy’s home?" 

Maria chuckles and smooths back Ella’s hair. “You can say hi when he wakes up.”

"Safe?"

Oh. Oh wow. Maria had thought for sure she’d get at least another year before she had to go down this road, but as far as she knows, this is the first time Ella’s actually put it all together. 

"Yeah," she says, pressing a kiss to her daughter’s head. "Daddy’s safe. Safe and whole."

Bruised, probably. The mission report had mentions of craters and high impact explosives. Well, maybe not any of that now that he’s sleeping it all off. She loves and she hates Erskine’s serum some days. 

"I want to see."

She looks down at her daughter, the ferocity in her blue eyes. Stubborn to the end. Not that she’s ever stood a chance at being anything else. This is not a battle Maria is willing to fight this morning. “Peeking only,” she replies, already heading off to the master bedroom. Their bedroom. Hers and Steve’s. 

Her heart swells, even as she nudges open the door. Steve’s sprawled every which way, hand tucked under her pillow, legs askew. The worst of the bruises has already faded to a dull purple and the superficial cuts he’d had on his face are already gone. She feels the tension leak out of Ella’s shoulders. 

"See baby?" she murmurs. "All safe."

"All safe," Ella repeats, her little body going soft. 

Maria slips back out of the room, pulls the door. Her hand returns to her daughter’s back, stroking slowly, carefully, easily. It’s soothed more than a few of Ella’s rough nights. “Worried?”

"Gone long time."

"Daddy was gone a long time." 

Two weeks. Longer than they’ve ever been apart from Ella since she was born. There are more important things, she thinks. But this wasn’t a mission for Steve. It was personal. It’s always personal. Hydra’s last cryo-freeze facility. 

"Come on," Maria murmurs. "We’ll get my coffee and sit by the window, okay?" 

And if they’re lucky, they’ll see the sunrise, just her and her daughter.


End file.
